That's an excellent question; we're glad you asked. UME is, at its core, a content management system. That means that you can host your website, and easily manage the contents, with or without knowledge of technical stuff like HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. All of our packages also come with Search Engine Optimization, SiteWalk, powerful analytics tools, and many add-ins that can be applied to your site. Our all-in-one packages also come with tools for Email Marketing, eCommerce, Customer Relations Management, and more. For further details, see our full features list.

UME is a hosted solution with robust applications that can be “turned on” in just a few keystrokes!  Your life is simplified because there is no need to outsource email marketing, choose and integrate an eCommerce solution, or hire a programmer to build a customer database. This all-in-one solution will save you time and money. And because the Ume platform is a secure hosted application, you can manage it from within your favorite web browser from anywhere. UME also provides FTP access and a Dreamweaver plug-in for editing your site. But you don't have to take our word for it. You can try UME free for 30 days with no obligation.

If you are running your own company or already have a full-time job you need to be concentrating on the business and won’t be able to do that if you are dealing with code, uploads, and upgrades. You should consider whether you are able to put down the rest of your work in order to deal with every hiccup that arises. And unless your organization can absorb the cost of hiring this skill-set, a managed hosting solution like UME is a no brainer to ensure the continued operations of your website.

While an open source approach may initially look attractive you should consider whether you are up for uncertainty. Product support, documentation, and user training are often subject to the whims of volunteer developers. As a result, there is no one accountable for service, stability and security. Support consists of posting a question in a discussion forum and hoping someone will answer with a solution that works. Matcha Design, on the other hand, has been in business since 2004, is here to stay, and is only a phone call away.

Of course. When you sign up for a trial, you're assigned a subdomain at umecms.com, (for example onlinebusiness.umecms.com) but once you upgrade from a trial site, you can use one or more domains to access your site. We can handle domain registration for you, or you can buy the domain yourself.

Yes, everything generated by the system is XHTML compliant, and everything created by Matcha's design team will be XHTML compliant as well. If you edit the HTML directly, then overall compliance is dependent upon the compliance of your code.

No, you can make as much money as you want and we won't charge you any extra. Your payment gateway may charge a processing fee however.

No you don't. We provide a built-in editor that functions like a word processing program. If you use Matcha's design services, we'll create the templates and handle the initial build for you, and we have maintenance packages available in case you don't want to be bothered with updating your site. We also have training available if you're having some trouble with the editor. Of course if you do know HTML/CSS/JavaScript, you can edit the code of pages and layouts directly using the same built-in editor.

Absolutely. Anything that can be placed on a typical HTML page can be used with UME.

There are several options available to you. You can use one or more of our many payment gateways, or you can select "Process Offline" which will capture payment details and allow you to process payment manually, using an existing POS sale system, for example. You can also allow customers to choose to pay by Check or COD.

Absolutely. We use search engine friendly URLs for products and catalogs, and we integrate with Google, Yahoo!, and Bing sitemaps with daily updates to ensure maximum search engine exposure for your site.

SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. In addition to UME’s friendly URLs you will use keywords on your pages that consumers might type into the search boxes. This “onsite SEO” is part art, part science and results require trial and error. “Offsite SEO” starts with making a list of sites that you want to link to your site.

Customer relationship management or CRM is a technique often involving technology for automating, organizing and synchronizing interactions with customers and sales prospects. The supported activities and workflows may be related to sales, marketing, technical support or customer service. The ultimate goal is to cultivate new customers and nurture existing ones.

A payment gateway processes credit card payments in five steps over a span of several seconds. After your customer has confirmed their purchase they are asked what form of payment they will use, this transaction is forwarded to the payment gateway and then on to your bank’s processor. From there the credit card’s network sends it to the bank that issued the customer’s credit card, after the transaction is approved the payment gateway informs the customer and the merchant.

Many companies build customer lead lists by giving away a free report (or something else of value) in exchange for a name and email. They are presented with the offer on what is called the “squeeze page” where they opt-in to receive future emails. Legally with each email you must give them the option to “un-subscribe” from further communications.  For best results give them the nature and frequency of planned campaigns because surprise regarding frequency or content will leave a negative impression.

Split-testing, if managed effectively will increase a marketer’s return on advertising. Create a marketing campaign and either test variations of the advertisement/email itself or test variations of the “landing page” where the interested prospect lands after clicking on the offer.  Methodically test variations of the graphics, copy and even the offer itself to see which one provides the highest click through rate.